Events

• 366 – The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire.

• 533 – Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.

• 1492 – Reconquista: the emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.

• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.

• 1788 – Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.

• 1791 – Big Bottom massacre in the Ohio Country, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War.

• 1818 – The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded.

• 1833 – Re-establishment of British rule on the Falklands.

• 1860 – The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the Académie des Sciences in Paris.

• 1871 – Amadeus I becomes King of Spain.

• 1900 – John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.

• 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian garrison surrenders at Port Arthur, China.

• 1935 – Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh.

• 1941 – World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.

• 1942 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) convicts 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history -- the Duquesne Spy Ring.

• 1942 – World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces.

• 1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.

• 1955 – Panamanian president Jose Antonio Remon is assassinated.

• 1959 – Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the U.S.S.R.

• 1971 – The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic football match.

• 1974 – President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.

• 1999 – A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) in Chicago, where temperatures plunge to -13°F (-25°C); 68 deaths are reported.

• 2001 – Sila Calderón becomes the first female Governor of Puerto Rico.

• 2002 – Eduardo Duhalde is appointed interim President of Argentina by the Legislative Assembly.

• 2004 – Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that it will return to Earth two years later.

Births

• 1642 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1693)

• 1647 – Nathaniel Bacon, English-born American colonist (d. 1676)

• 1699 – Osman III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1757)

• 1713 – Marie Dumesnil, French actress (d. 1803)

• 1719 – Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat, French shipbuilder (d. 1797)

• 1727 – James Wolfe, British general (d. 1759)

• 1777 – Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor (d. 1857)

• 1822 – Rudolf Clausius, German physicist (d. 1888)

• 1827 – Peter Semenov of Tian Shan, Russian explorer (d. 1914)

• 1833 – Frederick A. Johnson, American politician (d. 1893)

• 1836 – Queen Emma of Hawaii, Consort of King Kamehameha IV (d. 1885)

• 1836 – Mendele Moykher Sforim, Jewish writer (d. 1917)

• 1837 – Mily Balakirev, Russian composer (d. 1910)

• 1866 – Prof Gilbert Murray, Australian classical scholar (d. 1957)

• 1870 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor (d. 1938)

• 1873 – Thérèse de Lisieux, French Roman-Catholic nun (d. 1897)

• 1877 – Slava Raskaj, Croatian painter (d. 1906)

• 1885 – Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian Victoria Cross recipient

• 1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English Antarctic explorer (d. 1959)

• 1886 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (d. 1938)

• 1888 – Tito Schipa, Italian tenor (d. 1965)

• 1889 – Sir Bertram Stevens, Premier of New South Wales 1932-39 (d. 1973)

• 1892 – Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (d. 1962)

• 1893 – Lillian Leitzel, German acrobat and strongwoman (d. 1931)

• 1895 – Count Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (d. 1948)

• 1896 – Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (d. 1954)

• 1896 – Sir Lawrence Wackett, Australian aircraft engineer (d. 1982)

• 1897 – Jim Londos, Greek wrestler (d. 1975)

• 1902 – Dan Keating, Irish republican (d. 2007)

• 1905 – Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician (d. 1938)

• 1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer (d. 1998)

• 1905 – Luigi Zampa, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1991)

• 1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer (d. 2009)

• 1910 – Srirangam Srinivasarao, Telugu Poet (d. 1983)

• 1913 – Anna Lee, English actress (d. 2004)

• 1914 – Violet Vivian Finlay Stuart Mann, British writer (d. 1986)

• 1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish-born American Yiddish theatre actress and producer (d. 2002)

• 1917 – Vera Zorina, German dancer (d. 2003)

• 1918 – Willi Graf, German anti-Nazi activist (d. 1943)

• 1920 – Isaac Asimov, American author and biochemistry professor (d. 1992)

• 1921 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)

• 1925 – William J. Crowe, American admiral and ambassador (d. 2007)

• 1925 – Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (d. 2008)

• 1928 – Avie Bennett, Canadian philanthropist

• 1928 – Robert Goralski, American journalist (d. 1988)

• 1928 – Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese writer

• 1930 – Julius LaRosa, American singer

• 1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese politician

• 1933 – Ed Casey, Australian politician (d. 2006)

• 1933 – Seiichi Morimura, Japanese novelist

• 1936 – Roger Miller, American singer (d. 1992)

• 1938 – Ian Brady, British serial killer

• 1938 – Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author

• 1940 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist

• 1940 – S. R. S. Varadhan, Indian-American mathematician

• 1942 – Dennis Hastert, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

• 1942 – Hugh Shelton, 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

• 1943 – Barış Manço, Turkish singer and television producer (d. 1999)

• 1944 – Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian politician

• 1946 – Richard Cole, American tour manager

• 1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist

• 1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player

• 1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright

• 1950 – Débora Duarte, Brazilian actress

• 1950 – David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist

• 1951 – Alexander Pogrebinsky, Russian painter

• 1952 – Graeme Strachan, Australian rock singer (Skyhooks) (d. 2001)

• 1953 – Vincent Racaniello American Viroligist

• 1954 – Henry Bonilla, American politician

• 1954 – Dawn Silva, American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk)

• 1955 – Tex Brashear, American voice actor

• 1955 – Vivien Savage, French singer

• 1956 – Lynda Barry, American cartoonist

• 1957 – Joanna Pacula, Polish actress

• 1958 – Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian pianist

• 1960 – Naoki Urasawa, Japanese manga author

• 1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress

• 1961 – Todd Haynes, American film director

• 1963 – David Cone, American baseball player

• 1963 – Edgar Martínez, American baseball player

• 1964 – Pernell Whitaker, American boxer

• 1965 – Greg Swindell, American baseball player

• 1967 – Tia Carrere, American actress

• 1967 – Jón Gnarr, Icelandic comedian

• 1967 – Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player

• 1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor

• 1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion

• 1968 – Evan Parke, Jamaican actor

• 1968 – Goichi Suda, Japanese video game developer

• 1969 – Robby Gordon, American racing driver

• 1969 – Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austrian politician

• 1969 – Patrick Huard, Quebec actor and comedian

• 1969 – Glen Johnson, Jamaican boxer

• 1969 – Tommy Morrison, American boxer

• 1969 – Róbert Švehla, Slovak ice hockey player

• 1969 – Christy Turlington, American model

• 1970 – Royce Clayton, American baseball player

• 1970 – Robert Fertitta, American opera singer

• 1970 – Sanda Ladoşi, Romanian singer

• 1970 – Eric Whitacre, American composer

• 1971 – Taye Diggs, American actor

• 1971 – Renee Elise Goldsberry, American actress and singer

• 1971 – Lisa Harrison, American basketball player

• 1972 – Adam Elliot, Australian animator

• 1972 – Christopher Lennertz, American composer

• 1972 – Hristos Meletoglou, Greek triple jumper

• 1973 – Lucy Davis, British actress

• 1973 – Will Kirby, American actor

• 1975 – Chris Cheney, Australian musician (The Living End)

• 1975 – Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)

• 1975 – Dax Shepard, American actor

• 1975 – Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby union player

• 1976 – Hrysopiyi Devetzi, Greek triple jumper

• 1976 – Danilo Di Luca, Italian cyclist

• 1976 – Cletidus Hunt, American football player

• 1976 – Mahée Paiement, Canadian actress

• 1976 – Paz Vega, Spanish actress

• 1977 – Ales Pisa, Czech ice hockey player

• 1977 – Scott Proctor, American baseball player

• 1978 – Megumi Toyoguchi, Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)

• 1979 – Jonathan Greening, British footballer

• 1980 – Annie Bellemare, Canadian Figure Skater

• 1980 – Mac Danzig, American Mixed martial arts combatant

• 1981 – Hanno Balitsch, German footballer

• 1981 – Ryan Garko, American baseball player

• 1981 – Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player

• 1981 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer

• 1982 – Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker

• 1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress

• 1983 – Andrew Ebbett, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1985 – Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player

• 1988 – Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer

• 1991 – Davide Santon, Italian footballer

Deaths

• 1512 – Svante, Regent of Sweden (b. 1460)

• 1514 – William Smyth, English bishop and statesman (b. c1460)

• 1557 – Pontormo, Italian painter (b. 1494)

• 1685 – Harbottle Grimston, English politician (b. 1603)

• 1694 – Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician (b. 1651)

• 1726 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian composer (b. 1688)

• 1861 – King Frederick William IV of Prussia (b. 1795)

• 1892 – George Airy, British Astronomer Royal (b. 1801)

• 1893 – John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist (b. 1805)

• 1904 – James Longstreet, American Confederate general (b. 1821)

• 1913 – Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (b. 1855)

• 1915 – Carl Goldmark, Hungarian composer (b. 1830)

• 1917 – Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (b. 1832)

• 1920 – Paul Adam, French novelist (b. 1862)

• 1924 – Sabine Baring-Gould, English composer and novelist (b. 1834)

• 1936 – Sir Francis Newdegate, Governor of Tasmania (b. 1862)

• 1939 – Roman Dmowski, Polish politician (b. 1864)

• 1941 – Mischa Levitzki, Russian-born pianist (b. 1898)

• 1945 – Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, British naval commander (b. 1883)

• 1946 – Joe Darling, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)

• 1950 – James Dooley, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)

• 1951 – Sir William Campion, Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)

• 1959 – Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-born writer and novelist (b. 1880)

• 1960 – Fausto Coppi, Italian cyclist (b. 1919)

• 1960 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian politician (b. 1907)

• 1963 – Jack Carson, American actor (b. 1910)

• 1963 – Dick Powell, American actor (b. 1904)

• 1971 – Willard Maas, American poet and filmmaker (b. 1906)

• 1974 – Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)

• 1977 – Errol Garner, American musician (b. 1921)

• 1984 – Dick Emery, English comedian (b. 1915)

• 1986 – Dick James, English music publisher (Northern Songs) (b. 1920)

• 1986 – Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)

• 1986 – Bill Veeck, American baseball executive (b. 1914)

• 1990 – Alan Hale Jr., American actor (b. 1921)

• 1994 – Dixy Lee Ray, American politician (b. 1914)

• 1994 – Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (b. 1915)

• 1995 – Siad Barre, President of Somalia (b. 1919)

• 1995 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921)

• 1996 – Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist (b. 1915)

• 1997 – Randy California, American guitarist & songwriter (Spirit) (b. 1951)

• 1998 – Frank Muir, English writer, raconteur (b. 1920)

• 1999 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)

• 2000 – Nat Adderley, American musician and composer (b. 1931)

• 2000 – Patrick O'Brian, British novelist (b. 1914)

• 2000 – Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., American admiral (b. 1920)

• 2001 – Teri Diver, American actress (b. 1971)

• 2001 – William P. Rogers, American politician (b. 1913)

• 2002 – Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (b. 1958)

• 2003 – Eric Jupp, British-born pianist, composer, arranger (b. 1922)

• 2004 – Lynn Cartwright, American actress (b. 1927)

• 2004 – Jess Collins, American artist (b. 1923)

• 2005 – Cyril Fletcher, British comedian (b. 1913)

• 2005 – Frank Kelly Freas, American artist (b. 1922)

• 2005 – Ronald 'Bo' Ginn, American politician (b. 1934)

• 2005 – Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist (b. 1911)

• 2005 – Edo Murtić, Croatian painter (b. 1921)

• 2006 – Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, first female Philippine Supreme Court Justice (b. 1913)

• 2007 – Garry Betty, American CEO of Earthlink (b. 1957)

• 2007 – Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian (b. 1941)

• 2007 – Mauno Jokipii, Finnish professor and researcher (b. 1924)

• 2007 – Teddy Kollek, Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)

• 2007 – Don Massengale, American PGA Tour golf player (b. 1937)

• 2007 – Paek Nam-sun, North Korean Foreign Affairs minister (b. 1929)

• 2007 – Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor (b. 1951)

• 2007 – David Perkins, American geneticist (b. 1919)

• 2007 – Dan Shaver, American racecar driver (b. 1950)

• 2007 – Robert C. Solomon, American scholar of continental philosophy (b. 1942)

• 2008 – Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician (b. 1926)

• 2008 – George MacDonald Fraser, British author (b. 1925)

• 2008 – Gerry Staley, American baseball player (b. 1920)

• 2008 – Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Thailand (b. 1923)

• 2009 – Maria de Jesus, Portuguese supercentenarian (b. 1893)

Holidays and observances

• Second day of the Hogmanay Bank Holiday, Scotland

• Second day of New Year, Slovenia – Public holidays in Slovenia

• Second day of New Year, Serbia – Public holidays in Serbia

• Day after New Year's Day, New Zealand – Public holidays in New Zealand